Chapter 70

On the last day of the holiday, Yu He packed his suitcase reluctantly, preparing to head to the capital city for the Simiao Cup National College Traditional Chinese Medicine Knowledge Competition.

Yu He's room had been unoccupied for quite some time, and even though it was regularly cleaned, there was still a faint scent of dust in the air. He opened his wardrobe, casually grabbed a couple of clothes, and threw them into his suitcase.

Aunt Zhou had prepared his luggage in advance. Since they were staying at a Fu’s hotel, other daily necessities had already been sent over in advance. Yu He looked at the photos of the hotel room that the butler had sent him; even the color of the bedding was exactly the same as at home.

The butler mentioned that this suite was not open to the public and was where Fu Yunzheng stayed every time he went on a business trip to the capital city.

Fu Yunzheng also said, "Take a look through the drawers; you might find something I left behind last time."

Yu He responded, "I'm not a kid, don't try to fool me."

Fu Yunzheng put down the book in his hands, "Oh, which 'big kid' would want to pack me in a box and take me along?"

Yu He said, "I wish I could be with you 24/7. It would be great if you could shrink to the size of a palm, then I could put you in my pocket and take you everywhere."

Fu Yunzheng chuckled, "If I followed you everywhere, who would earn the money for you to spend?"

Yu He: "I can provide for you."

"Alright," Fu Yunzhuo responded, "Then I hope Young Master Yu can strive hard, be diligent from the crack of dawn, and aim to prosper quickly to provide for me."

Yu He flipped over, resting his head on Fu Yunzhuo's shoulder: "Starting from our junior year, we will gradually begin our internships, so there might not be as much time to spend with you."

Fu Yunzhuo's eyes fell upon Yu He's shiny black hair: "Academics come first."

Yu He slightly furrowed his brows: "Fu Yunzhuo."

Fu Yunzhuo replied: "What is it?"

Yu He propped himself up on his elbow, sitting up halfway, and looked at Fu Yunzhuo: "Do you think in this world there isn’t a couple who can just do nothing and be together every day?"

Fu Yunzhuo thought for a moment: "That would become boring very quickly."

Yu He disagreed: "But before I started school, from last September to this March, those six months, there wasn’t a single day that I felt bored. Living is so hard; it seems like there are so many things to do every day, bustling about without knowing what I'm actually busy with."

Fu Yunzhuo expressed his surprise: “You only went to Beijing for a week for the competition, how did you come up with so many reflections?”

Yu He lay on his back on the bed, daydreaming about the future: "If one day I can make a small achievement in medicine, I will open a clinic on Begonia Street at the foot of the mountain, specializing in treating injuries from falls and blows. It will open at ten in the morning and close at five in the evening. After closing, I’ll go to Locust Flower Lane to buy a fresh flower cake. By the time I return, it will be just in time for sunset at Guanyun Mountain."

"Specializing in treating injuries from falls and blows sounds like a place where swindlers sell miraculous pills." Fu Yunzhuo reached out to touch Yu He's face: "Your little clinic will definitely be under strict scrutiny from the tax department."

Yu He was puzzled: "Why?"

Fu Yunzhuo explained: "Pharmacies, tea shops, and craft stores are the top choices for money laundering. As my family member, opening a clinic that sounds unprofitable will make many people think we are using it for tax evasion."

Yu He laughed: "But I want to help the world and do good deeds. Only by doing good deeds can I achieve my desires. I made a vow to the mountain god of Guanyun Mountain; as long as I do more good deeds, he will help me fulfill my wishes."

"Since when did Guanyun Mountain have a mountain god?" Fu Yunzhuo was surprised: "Is there any wish that I can’t fulfill for you? It’s better to ask me than to pray to gods."

Fu Yunzhuo might not realize that Yu He's wish was for him to recover soon. That's why he made a vow to do good deeds and help the world.

Yu He recalled: "It’s been almost half a year. The last time I made a wish, I asked the Jade Emperor to appoint him on the spot, and it was quite effective."

Fu Yunzhuo spoke softly: "You have the ability to ask the Jade Emperor to appoint a mountain god, why not just ask the Jade Emperor to fulfill your wish directly? Why bother praying to any other gods?"

Yu He: "......"

Fu Yunzhuo commented, “Truly a case of seeking far and wide while ignoring what is close at hand.”

＊

Si Miao took part in the initial exam for the competition, consisting of three rounds: two written tests and one interview to identify traditional Chinese herbs.

The interview had the highest elimination rate, involving four examiners randomly selecting 20 types of medicinal herbs for the candidates to identify. The candidates had to name and describe the basic properties of these herbs within ten minutes.

Identifying 20 types of herbs and describing their properties within ten minutes means an average of just thirty seconds per herb. As many traditional Chinese herbs look similar, this is hardly enough time to even name the herb, let alone describe its properties, when faced with more challenging specimens.

The difficulty of the herb identification exam lies in the very short amount of time given to the candidates—just ten minutes in total. Moreover, skipping is not allowed; candidates must answer in order, and getting stuck on one herb means potentially losing the chance to score on the subsequent ones.

Even if a candidate can smoothly identify all the herbs, the majority will have used up their time by the twelfth or thirteenth herb.

The exam for Yu He and his group was scheduled for the second, fourth, and sixth days.

On the last day of the exam, Yu He walked out of the examination room in a daze. Perhaps seeing his vacant expression, everyone tacitly refrained from asking him how it went or discussing the answers.

As the weakest link in the four-person team, Yu He naturally did not take the initiative to discuss the answers. With a total of 150 multiple-choice questions of various types, he was confident about only three to five of his answers.

He had erased the rest of the questions from his memory.

Yang Yuqing went to have dinner with a friend studying in Beijing and left first.

As Yu He, Liang Ran, and Wang Guangbin were walking away from the examination room, they overheard other candidates fervently discussing a question. Yu He listened for a while but couldn’t recall answering that question at all.

This is bad. It’s most likely a lost cause.

Since there was still time, they decided to visit Universal Studios and have some fun.

There were many roller coaster rides in the park, which were not friendly to Yu He. As someone who gets motion sickness just from riding in a car, roller coasters were practically a death sentence.

Liang Ran dragged Wang Guangbin to queue for a ride, leaving Yu He to sit on a bench and text Fu Yunzhuo.

Forty minutes later, Wang Guangbin came back alone.

Yu He asked, “Where’s Liang Ran?”

Wang Guangbin glanced at the speeding roller coaster and said, “Up in the sky.”

Yu He then asked, “Didn’t you go on the ride?”

Wang Guangbin said with a discontented face, "That would limit my body weight."

Regarding this trip, Yu He and Wang Guangbin’s gaming experience was virtually non-existent, but they did manage to try every popular snack at the food stalls.

Returning to the hotel in the evening, Yu He packed his luggage and booked the earliest flight back to Yun Su for the next day.

Early the next morning, without even having breakfast, Yu He, along with Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin, rushed to the airport.

On the extended Bentley, Liang Ran didn't even have time to take off his eye mask, "The flight is at eleven, and it's only eight now."

Yu He gave a light cough, "Let's go check in early and choose a window seat."

Liang Ran smiled, leaned his head back on the seat, and said, "Wow, I really can't wait to get back."

When they arrived at the airport, it wasn’t even ten yet. Liang Ran curled up on the sofa in the first-class lounge to catch up on some sleep, while Wang Guangbin was having breakfast.

Just as Liang Ran fell asleep, his phone rang. He pulled down his eye mask, annoyed, and answered the phone, "Hello?"

On the other end was Yang Yuqing: "Liang Ran, where are you guys?"

Liang Ran yawned, "At the airport."

Yang Yuqing asked, "Airport? Are you guys leaving?"

Liang Ran hummed, "Aren't you going to hang out with your friends for a few more days? We have someone here who is about to catch lovesickness after being away from her boyfriend for a few days. Ouch, she hit me, she's angry from embarrassment. I'm not talking to you anymore, ah, we are about to board."

Yang Yuqing was speechless, "What do you mean, boarding? Didn't you check your scores, or look at our school’s official WeChat account? Our team made it to the next round! Yu He got full marks in the preliminary round for pharmaceutical debate! Full marks! The only full marks in this preliminary round!"

Liang Ran suddenly woke up, "What? We made it to the next round?"

He opened WeChat and went to Fangcheng University's official account. The latest article was prominently displayed on the homepage:

[Marching to the Simiao Cup! The Acupuncture and Tuina Department of the Traditional Chinese Medicine College, Class of '22, Advances to the Next Round!]

Yu He and Wang Guangbin abruptly looked up.

Liang Ran nodded at Yu He, "He, check the scores. The class monitor said you scored full marks in pharmaceutical debate."

Wang Guangbin exclaimed, looking at Yu He with shock in his eyes.

At this moment, Yu He was still unaware of what this perfect score truly meant.

Compared to Liang Ran’s surprise and Wang Guangbin’s joy, Yu He’s feelings were quite complicated. After all, he wanted to go home more than he wanted to participate in the semifinals.

Yang Yuqing sighed, “I just asked. You can forfeit if you don't participate, but you need to sign a form. I've also booked tickets for Universal Studios tomorrow. So, should we participate in the semifinals or not? We haven’t prepared for the semifinals content at all.”

Liang Ran said, “Hold on, we're going to have a quick meeting and call you back later.”

After hanging up the phone, Liang Ran got straight to the point, “Are we participating in the semifinals or not?”

Wang Guangbin was more rational, “Let me check the assessment items for the semifinals first.”

Yu He leaned back on the sofa, feeling dejected, and texted Fu Yunzheng to inform him that he might not be able to return home today.

The flight from Jing City to Yun Su Airport only takes two hours. Fu Yunzheng might have even been getting ready to pick him up right now.

Yu He always played around before exams, strictly following the principle of ‘play hard for big exams, play a little for small exams’. This time, he might have to cram for the semifinals.

They say interest is the best teacher, and this saying really holds true.

When Yu He first stepped into the university campus with the dream of curing Fu Yunzheng’s leg, the moment he first saw the campus card, he could never have imagined that he would actively participate in a competition, let alone advance from the preliminary round to the semifinals.

Looking out at the vast airport through the window, all that filled Yu He’s heart was the thought that he wouldn’t be able to go home.

Liang Ran put an arm around Yu He’s shoulders, “It’s okay. If you don’t want to compete, we’ll go back.”

Yu He looked up at his brother-in-arms, and gave up resisting, “How long is the semifinals?”

Wang Guangbin answered, “Three days.”

The preliminary round had a 70% elimination rate. With fewer participants in the semifinals, the schedule was also shorter: it would end on Friday, the results would be announced on Saturday, and the finals would be on Sunday.

The finals would last only one day.

Yu He glanced at his plane ticket, “Then let's change our flight to Friday.”

Wang Guangbin cheered and hugged Yu He, “You're the best, He! I knew you weren’t the type to choose love over friendship.”

Yu He leaned back slightly, nearly knocked over by Wang Guangbin who was as enthusiastic as an overweight giant Alaskan malamute, wagging its tail in joy.

Yu He pushed Wang Guangbin’s head away, saying, “I am the type to choose love over friendship.” He showed Wang Guangbin his phone screen, “Boss Fu is coming to Jing City to find me!”

Upon closer inspection, Wang Guangbin noticed that Yu He's phone screen was on the messaging app, displaying several recently sent texts.

[Yu He: Mr. Fu, don’t rush to the airport just yet. We made it to the next round, so we probably can't return today o(╥﹏╥)o.

Fu Yunzhe: That's impressive.

Yu He: What’s impressive about that? My good mood is completely gone. I can't go home today and it'll be a few more days before we can meet. It's so annoying.

Fu Yunzhe: Don't be upset. There's a project in Jing City that needs to be inspected; it's been postponed for quite a while. It's a good opportunity to check it out.

Fu Yunzhe: Go back to the hotel and wait for me. See you tonight.

Yu He: !!!]

After reading the chat between Yu He and Fu Yunzhe, Wang Guangbin commented with a unique perspective, "When you text me, you never use emoticons."

Yu He took back his phone, “Who allowed you to read that?”

Liang Ran suddenly flashed a meaningful smile, “Haha.”

Yu He looked at Liang Ran, “What’s up with you now?”

Liang Ran took off the eye mask from his head and stuffed it into his backpack, "Nothing, I just thought of a joke."

Confusion appeared on Yu He’s face as he scrutinized the mischievous Liang Ran and asked cautiously, “What joke?”

Liang Ran said, "You said you never act coquettishly."

Yu He braced himself for Liang Ran’s tease, but it was futile; he still exploded in anger, grabbing Liang Ran’s clothes and shaking them, “Liang Ran! When did I ever act coquettishly?”

“Have you ever noticed how rare it is to see disabled people on the streets in Huaguo? In terms of infrastructure for facilitating the daily travels, activities, and work of disabled people, Huaguo still has a long way to go.” Liang Ran gestured to Yu He to look at the airplane on the tarmac that was boarding passengers, “Look, many airplanes’ jet bridges are not wheelchair accessible. Indeed, every airport and station has set up green channels for the disabled, but we all know that most disabled people don’t want to bother others by taking these specially opened ‘green channels’.”

Yu He frowned, remaining silent.

Wang Guangbin commented, "Yeah, just like the tactile paving at the entrance of our school, it’s turned into a parking lot for shared bikes. There is tactile paving on every sidewalk, but in all these years, I've never seen a blind person walk on it."

Liang Ran patted Yu He on the shoulder, “But this won’t stop Mr. Fu from coming. I guess he didn’t come specifically to inspect the project. I bet once you acted a bit coquettishly, Mr. Fu couldn’t resist and had to come see you, no matter the distance.”

Wang Guangbin nodded, putting it succinctly, “Totally smitten.”

Yu He's heart raced as he exclaimed, "Is that for real? Don't overinterpret this."

Liang Ran raised his eyebrows, walking towards the airport exit with Yu He, analyzing the three messages sent by Fu Yunzhe back and forth, as if he was doing a reading comprehension exercise: "Look, in your first message, you mentioned that you couldn’t return. If he had already planned to come to Jing City, then why didn’t he say it then?"

Wang Guangbin chimed in, harmoniously adding, "That makes sense. It’s like if I was originally going to visit you in your dorm, and then I said I had to go to the cafeteria first. If I had also planned to go to the cafeteria at that time, I would definitely have said let’s meet there."

"That's such a heartfelt connection. Yet, when it comes to you, it seems to be cut in half." Liang Ran glanced at Yu He, momentarily dazzled by his delicate profile, "Who asked you to be so good-looking and capable of acting so coquettishly? Both your Brother Bin and I, these two old straight men, can't resist you. It’s totally understandable if Mr. Fu is so mesmerized by you that he’s spinning in circles."

Yu He rolled his eyes, insisting, "Your Brother He never acts coquettishly; it’s all due to my personal charm that I win people over."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Liang Ran couldn't help but laugh, mimicking Yu He’s words from this morning when he was knocking on his door to get him up, "Please, Brother Ran, please get up. You can sleep just as well in the car."

Wang Guangbin strongly agreed with Liang Ran, "Really, He, every time you say ‘please’ to me, I just can't refuse your request."

Yu He expressionlessly responded, "Stop talking, please."

Wang Guangbin and Liang Ran exchanged glances and obediently closed their mouths.

However, Yu He didn’t feel any joy; it rather confirmed to him that he really was good at acting coquettishly!

When did he ever act coquettishly?

Really now.

The semi-finals were divided into a written test with subjective answers and an interview. The preliminary rounds only had multiple-choice questions, but the semi-finals required extensive elaboration of one’s viewpoints in essay form.

The interview included a diagnosis section and a medication identification section. This time, however, it was going to be more difficult. Not only had the number of medications to identify increased to 35, but there would also be more medications with similar appearances to confuse the students.

Yang Yuqing sent materials she got from her seniors to the group chat: "The written test is tomorrow, but our interview is on the last day, so we have three more days to review. We can study as much as possible. The medication identification and diagnosis are the major parts. I suggest we meet the day after tomorrow afternoon to share our learning experiences."

Liang Ran commented, "The class president is really lucky, drawing the third day for the interview."

Yang Yuqing said, "The written test tomorrow morning will have four major questions. As long as we don’t misdiagnose, we should be able to scrape by to the passing line. The marking will be point-based, and they won’t deduct points for additional answers."

Yu He, who hadn’t reviewed the essay questions at all, could already foresee how torturous tomorrow’s exam would be.

Wang Guangbin said to Yu He, “Don’t panic. I’ll go back and summarize some universal templates for you."

Yu He was incredibly touched. Both Liang Ran and Yang Yuqing also asked for the templates.

Yang Yuqing excitedly said to Yu He, "Yu He! Your talent in traditional Chinese medicine is like a gift from heaven. Do you know how long it has been since someone won consecutively in the medication identification round of the Simiao Cup?"

Yu He showed a perplexed expression: "What does 'consecutive championships' mean?"

Liang Ran explained, "It means scoring full marks in the herbal identification test during the preliminary, semi-final, and final rounds."

Yang Yuqing looked even happier than Yu He: "Sun Simiao is revered as the King of Medicine, and the herbal identification section has always been of paramount importance in the Sun Simiao Cup. There are 20 types in the preliminary round, 35 in the semi-final, and 60 in the final. If you can identify all 35 types in the semi-final, there's a high probability you could be directly promoted to the final! It's been many years since the last time someone won three championships in a row! Yu He!!! Your good fortune is yet to come!!!"

Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin also looked at Yu He with excitement in their eyes, as if possessing the talent to quickly identify herbs through scent was indeed something remarkable.

The last time Yu He scored full marks in a competition was a long time ago. Back then, he didn’t have any mental issues, his performance was stable, and he often stood out in exams, securing the top position.

Looking back, those distant successes feel like they happened in another lifetime.

Liang Ran looked at Yu He with sincere and determined eyes: "Yu He, you can definitely do it. I've been saying from the start that you have a talent for this. You always thought I was just comforting you, but do you believe it now? There are 5 million medical students nationwide, and at least 800,000 of them are from Traditional Chinese Medicine colleges. How many of them can identify herbs just by taste?"

Yang Yuqing laughed, "You geniuses really do have a special way of recognizing each other. I’ve never seen Liang Ran praise anyone like this before."

Wang Guangbin exclaimed, "This isn’t just God giving Yu He his meal; it’s more like God feeding him directly. I grew up under a medicine cabinet, and my decades of immersion can’t compare to Yu He’s progress in the past two months. Choosing to study Traditional Chinese Medicine was definitely the right choice for you!"

It had been a long time since Yu He had been looked at with such eager eyes, and he felt a bit embarrassed: "Don’t make it sound like I’ve already won the three championships."

Liang Ran immediately said, "Don't feel pressured. We’re only freshmen, and it’s already impressive that we made it to the semi-finals."

Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Yu He couldn’t help but feel a sense of fate and circularity.

It was as if his previous hardships and fatigue were just detours, and his life was meant to achieve something.

His years of drifting and following the current finally came to an end.

Every step he took was a stride towards the summit, rising from the depths.

Yu He’s life had been fragmented; he was once a favored child of heaven, but then his life took a sharp downturn, plummeting drastically.

He thought he would be stuck in the mire of mediocrity.

Perhaps it was fate, but when the winds of change started to blow, Yu He was destined to rise to great heights.

Now, standing once again on the national stage, Yu He was about to embrace his moment of glory.

After a brief meeting, the four of them went their separate ways to study. Yu He realized that his mindset was different from that of the other top students. Faced with the sudden challenge of an exam, Yu He’s first reaction was, ‘The exam is tomorrow, what’s the point in studying now?’

While Liang Ran and the others were thinking, ‘There’s still time, as top students we can definitely move mountains and change the skies!’

Upon returning to his room, Yu He reflected on his own mindset, realizing that even when he was doing well in his studies, he was quite laid-back. But this time was different. The words of Liang Ran and the others were like three shots of adrenaline, directly injected into Yu He's arteries.

Now, he was filled with enthusiasm, boiling hot, as if he could don a red cape and go fight monsters to save the world.

For Yu He, if someone said he couldn’t do it, he might not be motivated to prove them wrong. But if someone praised him, he would feel compelled to live up to their expectations, whether he was capable or not.

He really was a 'go-with-the-flow' kind of person.

Yu He worked hard, neglecting sleep and food, until a knock on the door made him realize that it had already gotten dark.

"Who is it?"

As Yu He walked to the door, he thought it was Liang Ran and the others asking him to join them for a meal. “I’m not going out to eat. I’ll order room service later. You guys go ahead.”

When he reached the door, Yu He opened it.

It was Fu Yunzheng!

Yu He’s eyes widened. Even though he knew Fu Yunzheng would come, he couldn’t suppress the surge of excitement in his heart the moment he saw him.

Fu Yunzheng lifted the thermal container in his hand, saying, “I brought you some peanut and almond pudding made by Aunt Zhou.”

Yu He hugged Fu Yunzheng tightly: “Fu Yunzheng!”

Fu Yunzheng moved the thermal container out of the way with one hand, while wrapping his other arm around Yu He’s shoulders: “Let’s go inside first.”

Inside the room, the suitcase was sprawled on the floor, clothes were scattered about, printed materials covered the bed, and the laptop was charging at the foot of the bed, with the power cord stretching quite long.

Yu He picked up the things from the floor, clearing a path for Fu Yunzheng’s wheelchair: “There’s no assistive devices installed here, just tell me what you need.”

Fu Yunzheng looked at Yu He and nodded: “Thank you, Young Master Yu.”

Yu He pushed Fu Yunzheng’s wheelchair to the bed and asked, “Do you need to use the bathroom? I bought a shower stool this afternoon, so it might be more convenient for you to use the bathroom.”

Fu Yunzheng replied, “Sure.”

Yu He continued to ask, “Has your leg been hurting badly recently?”

Fu Yunzheng said, “Don’t worry about me, you go back to your work. I’ll take a shower first, and then you can help me onto the bed.”

Yu He opened the insulated barrel to find that the peanut paste inside was still warm. He ladled out two bowls and offered, “Here you go. Have you had dinner yet? What would you like to eat? I'll accompany you."

Fu Yunzheong chuckled, “It’s not that we can’t go out to eat. Should I call for room service?”

Yu He, sitting by the bed, picked up the workbook and answered while looking at the problems, “I’m good with anything. What do you feel like eating? We can go out after I finish this page.”

Fu Yunzheong suggested, “Let’s just order room service. I'll order the food; you focus on your book.”

Fu Yunzheong made a special trip from Yun Su to accompany Yu He. However, Yu He didn’t have time to properly talk with Fu Yunzheong. She really wanted to put down her books and spend time clinging to Fu Yunzheong, but she didn't want to give up halfway through her review.

Yu He glanced at Fu Yunzheong apologetically, “Just a moment.”

Fu Yunzheong wheeled his chair next to Yu He, as if he knew what she left unsaid, “It’s fine, focus on your work.”

Yu He held Fu Yunzheong’s hand, undistracted, her concentration fully on the argumentative logic of the big question on this page. After finishing, she closed her eyes and went through the answers in her mind once more, feeling fairly confident before putting down the book.

Yu He stood up, “I’ll help you take a bath.”

Fu Yunzheong, understanding and reasonable, said, “I can do it myself. Don’t always worry about me; focusing on your review is more important.”

Yu He leaned down to hug Fu Yunzheong, half-kneeling next to the wheelchair, “I am so, so happy that you could come from Yun Su to accompany me. I have so much to say to you. Let’s talk after the exam tomorrow...”

Fu Yunzheong smiled at Yu He and interrupted, “Little He, we don’t need to say these things between us. I came here because I missed you, and seeing you so focused makes me happy.”

Fu Yunzheong brushed back a stray lock of Yu He’s hair, “Finding a career you love is more important than anything else.”